Director of Special Events

StreetWise Partners•New York, NY

8d•Hybrid

About The Position

StreetWise Partners is seeking a dynamic, entrepreneurial, and results-driven Director of Special Events to lead the strategy, growth, and execution of the organization's established fundraising events portfolio. This role is critical in driving programmatic and organizational success to support continued growth and scale. The Director will develop and execute a 1-3 year growth strategy, bringing fresh ideas and innovative fundraising approaches to the existing event portfolio. The ideal candidate is a fundraiser, strategist, project manager, relationship builder, and volunteer leader who understands that successful events generate revenue, strengthen donor relationships, expand networks, activate volunteers, and advance organizational goals. This position reports to the Chief Development Officer and is responsible for event fundraising revenue and strategy. The role involves close collaboration with executive leadership, board members, and event committees, and supervises a part-time Contract Event Manager and a Development Assistant. This is a hybrid position based in New York City, requiring regular in-person attendance at events and meetings, sometimes in the evenings. Occasional travel, including to Washington, DC, may be required.

Requirements

Commitment to StreetWise Partners' mission of advancing economic mobility and opportunity.
7 - 10 years of progressively responsible experience in fundraising events, nonprofit development, sponsorship sales, or related fields.
Demonstrated success managing and growing revenue-generating fundraising events.
Demonstrated success recruiting, motivating, and managing volunteers, committees, and fundraising ambassadors.
Experience partnering with executive leadership and board members to achieve fundraising goals.
Experience managing event budgets and measuring fundraising performance against revenue goals.
Experience with CRM and event management systems (Salesforce preferred) and a strong aptitude for learning and leveraging new technologies to improve fundraising operations.
Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
Strong attention to detail, organizational skills, and follow-through.
Ability to analyze performance metrics and translate data into actionable growth strategies.
Proven experience securing and stewarding corporate sponsors.
Willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends as required by event schedules.

Nice To Haves

Be energized by the opportunity to inherit strong, successful events and elevate them to the next level.
Bring creativity and fresh thinking while respecting and leveraging existing event strengths and traditions.
Think strategically about long-term fundraising growth beyond a single event cycle.
Inspire volunteers and committee members to become passionate ambassadors and fundraisers.
Excel at building relationships with board members, volunteers, corporate sponsors, donors, and senior executives.
Understand how fundraising events fit within an organization's overall development strategy and donor pipeline.
Balance high-level strategic thinking with hands-on execution.
Bring an entrepreneurial mindset, strong initiative, and a continuous improvement orientation.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute a multi-year strategy to grow StreetWise Partners' fundraising event portfolio over the next 1-3 years.
Build upon existing events by introducing innovative fundraising, sponsorship, engagement, and stewardship strategies.
Identify and implement strategies to increase sponsorship revenue, attendee acquisition, donor retention, and onsite fundraising performance.
Cultivate, solicit, and steward sponsors in partnership with the development team, committees, and Board.
Develop stewardship strategies to convert event attendees, sponsors, and committee members into long-term donors and champions.
Analyze event performance data and fundraising metrics to maximize return on investment and inform future growth.
Research and implement emerging fundraising trends, technologies, and event experiences.
Assess opportunities for new fundraising events and potential expansion into Washington, DC.
Develop and manage annual event budgets while identifying opportunities to improve net revenue.
Build systems and processes that support scalable event growth and reduce operational risk.
Recruit, onboard, develop, and lead event committees.
Inspire and equip committee members to activate their networks to secure sponsorships, ticket sales, auction donations, and new supporters.
Partner with board members and volunteers to identify prospective sponsors, corporate partners, donors, committee members, honorees, and attendees.
Develop year-round engagement strategies to strengthen volunteer retention and cultivate future fundraising leaders.
Serve as a visible ambassador for StreetWise Partners at committee meetings, networking events, donor gatherings, and fundraising events.
Collaborate closely with Corporate Engagement, Individual Giving, Development Operations, Marketing, Programs, and Executive Leadership to maximize fundraising opportunities generated through events.
Collaborate closely with Corporate Engagement and Individual Giving to convert event participants into deeper year-round supporters.
Ensure event storytelling, sponsorship messaging, and donor communications reflect StreetWise Partners' mission and strategic priorities.
Identify opportunities to deepen engagement by moving event participants into volunteering, mentoring, corporate partnerships, major giving, and other forms of support.
Supervise the part-time Contract Event Manager, providing strategic direction, project oversight, and professional support.
Provide day-to-day direction and oversight to the Development Assistant on event-related priorities through a dotted-line reporting relationship.